Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Sellin' it...

Last weekend we went down to our old haunt, Northampton, to check out the homestead. When we moved to Burlington we decided to rent out our house instead of selling, not knowing if Burlington would become home or not. The challenges of being an absentee landlord as well as the need to pay for our recent renovations have led us to sell.

Of course perfectly timed with the current real estate market.

The house actually looks pretty good. The exterior is in need of a little TLC, but basically, it's solid. We had a toilet to fix, and a long To Do list to write for our subsequent visit in June. Mostly just paint and caulk, but a few tricky other projects. The emptying of the garage will be fun. Ugh.

We are lucky our current tenants have taste. Therefore, the house should show pretty well when we have our Open House in July. We've decided to advertise it "For Sale or Lease" just in case no one offers the full amount we need in order to pay for the renovations. In that case, we'll lease it for another year and hope the market improves for another attempt to sell next summer. Our lender has graciously agreed to put off the repayment for a year, if needed (thanks, Dad).

Though it will be a load off if we can sell, part of me was a little sad as we walked through. It was our very first house. We put ALOT of work into that place

and it's bittersweet to let it go. Having the responsibility eliminated will provide some much needed simplification to our lives, but man, it's such a gem. And such a great little town. You could walk downtown in 10 minutes for a show or shop. Feel like sticking close to home? hop a block to a hole in the wall for a pint, or grab a pizza at the neighborhood Italian restaurant. And now there is a coffee shop and a fabric boutique on that same block. Nice!

And I totally spaced Webs. Webs is the brick and mortar location of yarn.com. And it was 3 blocks from our house. I totally didn't appreciate it until we moved. What? You mean every town doesn't have a discount yarn store the size of a CVS? We were there all day Saturday and I totally forgot about the old money sucker. Then on Sunday I remembered, and...they are closed on Sundays. Doh! Luckily, we're headed back soon, so I'm scouring Ravelry to decide on a project. Perhaps a sweater for fall?

Though there is sweet nostalgia, Jay and I both agree having the boys there would be a nightmare. Our house was right on the street. No front yard at all. Sam would have gotten smooshed or spent his entire outdoor existence tethered to the garage. But we also agree that we could live there again. Maybe not that house, but in Northampton. If it's good enough for Kim and Thurston, it's good enough for me. Of course we can't afford the huge beautiful house on the hill, but there are more modest options. We'll probably always keep it in the back of our minds, filed next to Blacksburg under great little places.

But we're loving Burlington. This time of year is just amazing. Warm days and cool nights. Apple Blossoms. Fresh stash of Maple Syrup. And, riding the Harley...